“Can I tell Alden you’d be willing to use your telepathy to check on Silveny and give reports to Councillor Oralie?” Granite asked, pulling a dark leaping crystal from his cape.
“Of course,” Sophie said. “And wait—you’re going to see Alden?”
“In some form,” Granite agreed.
“Can I go with you?” Biana asked, appearing in the corner.
“Ah, Miss Vacker,” Mr. Forkle said. “Getting good at vanishing, I see.”
“I fooled Calla this morning,” Biana said proudly. “I finally figured out how to feel the pollen and keep it off my skin. But you’re ignoring my question. Can I go?”
Granite shook his head. “Your father is being monitored too closely. Besides, I can’t have you learning one of my identities.”
“Couldn’t we just hail Alden later and ask him who visited him?” Sophie asked.
“Do you think I’m brand new at having an alternate identity?” Granite leaped away before Sophie could answer.
Biana stared sadly at her feet, and Sophie knew how she felt.
“Do you want to use my Spyball to see your dad?” she offered. “You can’t talk to him, but you can see how he’s doing.”
“Wait—if we watch through the Spyball, would we see the real Granite?” Biana asked.
Mr. Forkle sighed. “You kids think we’re such amateurs. The answer to any of your theories is: No—it’s not that easy. Besides, I have something else for all of you to do today. We’ve made arrangements with King Enki for the twins to live in Ermete’s former residence. He’s one of the dwarves we lost in the battle on Everest, and he had no family to inherit his possessions. Dwarven residences are different from ours, but your friends will adjust. And they’ll be safe and have plenty of food.”
“Wow. That’s . . . really great,” Sophie said, though living in a dead dwarf’s house sounded mildly depressing. But it couldn’t be worse than living in Wildwood.
“Good. Because you’ll be the one telling them.” Mr. Forkle removed a special pathfinder from his cape. The yellow crystal at the end was barely larger than the wand’s point, and it only had a handful of facets carved into it. “This will take us to the Neutral Territories,” he explained, adjusting the crystal.
Sophie was about to reach for his hand when she realized her mistake.
“Hang on,” she told him, racing for the stairs. “If we’re going, we’re all going.”
FIFTY-THREE
STOP!” TAM SHOUTED from across the river as he stretched out his arms and pulled every shadow toward his grasp.
“It’s okay!” Sophie promised, running ahead of the others. “They’re with me.”
Tam flicked his wrists, launching the shadows across the water. “I never said you could bring people here.”
“We mean you no harm,” Mr. Forkle said calmly. “There’s no need for your darkness tricks.”
“It’s not a trick,” Tam said. “Unlike your disguise. And you don’t come any closer unless I take a reading of all of you.”
Keefe scrambled away from the shadows. “Uh, forget that.”
“It doesn’t hurt,” Sophie told him. “It just feels really cold.”
“I don’t care. It’s not happening,” Keefe insisted.
“The only people who refuse readings are those with darkness to hide,” Tam told him.
“Or maybe I just don’t want some creeper putting his shadow in my brain,” Keefe snapped back. “Especially a dude with silver tips on his bangs. What’d you do, melt down the buckles on your Exillium uniform and dip your head in?”
“My registry pendant, actually. I melted down the chain after I ripped off the crystal and threw it in my father’s face. Now if I ever face him again, he’ll see exactly how little I miss living in his glittering prison.”
Keefe looked away, for once without a snappy comeback.
“I think we’ve gotten off track,” Mr. Forkle said. “I appreciate your wariness, Mr. Song, but—”
“How do you know that name?”
“Relax. I know your name because I’m careful—like you appear to be. I don’t visit someone I haven’t investigated.”
Tam snorted. “All you know are the Council’s lies.”
“I assure you, I searched well beyond the registry’s files. Which is why I know that your sister was banished after she flooded part of Atlantis—even though it was your parents’ fault. They should’ve known better than to bring a fledgling Hydrokinetic under the ocean. It’s like bringing a Guster into a hurricane and expecting them to leave the wind alone. I also know that your father tried to convince people you were a year older than Linh, but you and your sister refused to go along with the lie. I know you scored off the charts on your entrance exams to Foxfire, but your sister scored even higher. And yet your performance at Exillium has been mediocre at best. You refuse to apply yourself during the skill lessons, and you’ve broken several bones due to careless risks. I’ve also met your father several times. Can’t say I was impressed.”